In 1968, workers went on strike over unfair pay an hazardous working conditions in Memphis, Tennesse
Brianna Frierson

A sea of striking city employees make their way to a meeting with Mayor Henry Loeb on Feb. 13, 1968. Striking sanitation workers, more than 1,000 of them by some estimates, marched on City Hall that day and were diverted to the Auditorium, where the mayor could address them.(Photo: James R. Reid / MPS)

On a rainy afternoon a half-century ago, the accidental deaths of two African-American sanitation workers in Memphis unloosed long-suppressed racial tensions and ripped open a new chapter in the civil rights movement, one that began with a bitter labor walkout and culminated with the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

But as far as much of the Memphis media was concerned, there was a bigger story to chase that soggy Feb. 1, 1968: Elvis Presley’s daughter was born.

“Newest Presley Has Audience,” beamed a section-front headline accompanied by three photos in the next day’s edition of the Memphis Press-Scimitar, an afternoon newspaper that devoted days of coverage to the birth of the singer’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley.

Deep inside the Feb. 2 paper, on Page 10, was a story documenting the deaths of Robert Walker, 29, and Echol Cole, 35, who had been crushed when a packer on a garbage truck malfunctioned. A grim reminder of the workers' low pay, nonexistent benefits and brutal working conditions, the fatalities galvanized some 1,300 employees to launch a strike that convulsed the city.

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Sanitation worker Otto Carnes participates in a march on March 29, 1968. The city was taking no chance on a repeat of the previous day's violence. National Guardsmen in armored personnel carriers equipped with 50-caliber machine guns escorted marchers. Barney Sellers / The Commercial Appeal

On Friday morning, April 5, 1968, more than 300 mourners paid tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at R.S. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home, 374 Vance. "Jesus will take care of him," one mother whispered to her little boy. An old man in coveralls and shoes without toes waited his turn in line. When he reached the casket he leaned over and said, "We won't give up, and we won't bring no shame to your name." One elderly woman stopped, a tear trickled down her cheek, then, she bent over and kissed Dr. King's lips. Another, carrying a portable radio playing blues tunes, stopped by the casket for about five minutes. Her lips were moving, but no words were spoken. Then she whispered, "Goodbye, doctor. We won't forget you." It was a tiny chapel, draped in lavender. People were shoulder to shoulder when Dr. Ralph Abernathy, King's top aide and closest friend, arrived. Dr. Abernathy led them in a stanza of the civil right's leader's theme song, "We Shall Overcome." Afterward, the copper and bronze casket was taken to Memphis Metropolitan Airport where Dr. King's widow and their four children were waiting aboard a chartered airplane to accompany his body home to Atlanta. Dr. King was shot at 6:01 p.m., April 4, as he stood on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel. At the time of his death, King was on his third trip to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. (By Charles Nicholas / The Commercial Appeal) Charles Nicholas, Charles Nicholas / The Commercia

National Guard bayonets block Memphis' famed Beale Street on March 29, 1968, as marchers supporting striking sanitation workers pass through downtown. A march led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. the day before erupted in violence. UPI

Martin Luther King arrives at the Memphis airport on April 3, 1968, under pressure for being associated with the violence of the previous week's march-turned-riot in Memphis, but determined to support the city's striking sanitation workers. Behind him is aide Ralph Abernathy. William Leaptrott / Memphis Pres

March 28, 1968 - A marcher lies unconscious on a downtown street following the violence that erupted during a march led by Martin Luther King Jr. on behalf of striking sanitation workers. Special Collections/University of Memphis Libraries

Abram Schwab (left), Beverly Schwab and Michelle Johnson reacted with astonishment and fear when the National Guard rumbled down Beale on March 29, 1968, the day after the march broke up in violence. The trio had been cleaning up glass from the broken windows at A. Schwabs dry goods store on Beale.
We were lucky. They (looters) only broke out the glass and got some of the merchandise. They didnt get in the store.
 Abram Schwab Robert Williams/The Commercial Appeal

The daily sanitation strike marches resumed March 29, 1968 - one day after rioting left Main and Beale littered with bricks and broken glass and dappled with blood. The city was taking no chances on a repeat of the violence: National Guardsmen blocked off Beale Street. Barney Sellers, The Commercial Appeal

Mayor Loeb is overtaken by a sea of striking city employees on way to a meeting in the Auditorium February 13, 1968. He started off in vanguard. Striking sanitation workers, more than 1,000 of them by some estimates, marched on City Hall that today and were diverted to the Auditorium where the mayor could address them. James R. Reid / MPS

March 28, 1968 - Police officers in riot gear on Beale Street following the breakup of a march led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. March 28, 1968. Black leaders accused the police of brutality; police officers said they did what was necessary to restore order. Larry Payne, 16, was killed by police later in the day in what officers said was a looting, knife-wielding incident that started at the Sears department store on South Third. In the wake of the violence, a curfew was imposed and more than 3,800 National Guardsmen were rushed to the city. Special Collections/University of Memphis Libraries

One-hundred seventeen strikers and strike supporters were arrested March 5, 1968 for refusing to leave City Hall. Cheering students  fresh from picketing Main Street stores  shouted Down with Loeb!, sang We Shall Overcome and called out Keep the faith, baby! as those arrested were paraded through a cordon of police officers and marched to the city jail.

It is not dishonorable to go to jail for the right reason.
 Rev. James M. Lawson Jr., one of those arrested James R. Reid / Memphis Press-Scimitar

The tensions erupted into violence for the first time Feb. 23, 1968. Disagreement over what sparked the incident continues: Was it because marchers rocked a police car? Or did a police car first cross into the strikers lane and graze a woman? What is certain is that police sprayed Mace into the faces of marchers  including ministers  near the Goldsmiths department store at Main and Gayoso. The protesters, some blind from Mace, dispersed in confusion.
Our . . . position was that the police would not have Maced ministers of the white community . . . knowing they were ministers. . . . We felt this was done because we were black.
 Dr. H. Ralph Jackson, director of the Minimum Salary Department of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Tom Barber / MPS

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spent some two hours at Centenary Methodist Church at 584 E. McLemore, shortly after arriving in Memphis April 3, 1968. King went to the church, pastored by Rev. James Lawson, to meet with local black ministers to discuss ways to avoid the previous week's violence in the march planned for April 8. Tom Barber / Memphis Press-Scimi

11:45 a.m. Wednesday, April 3, 1968 - Fire and Police Director Frank Holloman (left), Mayor Henry Loeb (center) and unidentified man head to the Federal Building. Federal Judge Bailey Brown, at the request of Loeb and other city officials, issued a temporary order restraining Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or any of his followers from leading a march in Memphis. Fred Payne, Courtesy Special Collections/University of Memphis Libraries

Outside the Lorraine Motel Wednesday, April 3, 1968, U.S. Marshal Cato Ellis served Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a temporary restraining order from a federal judge, barring them from leading another march in Memphis without court approval. Also present were top King aides Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Andrew Young, James Orange and Bernard Lee. In the wake of disorder that erupted during a March 28 march, led by Dr. King, the restraining order was issued to stop a national "March on Memphis." The march, which had been tentatively scheduled Friday April 5, was rescheduled for the following Monday to allow time for marchers from around the country to participate. "We are not going to be stopped by Mace or injunctions," said Dr. King. Lawyers for SCLC went into federal court that afternoon to try to get Judge Bailey Brown to lift the injunction. Andrew Young testifies: "Dr. King would consider it a repudiation of his philosophy and his whole way of life" if the march turned violent. King would make his famous "Mountaintop" speech at Mason Temple the evening of April 3. The next day, at 6:01 p.m., King was shot and fatally wounded as he stood on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine. At the time, he was on his third trip to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. Barney Sellers / The Commercial

The dignity of the march led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on March 28, 1968, soon gave way to disorder; hope turned to horror. Witnesses said a group of about 200 youths began breaking windows and looting about 20 minutes after the march began. Police moved in with tear gas and nightsticks. March participants scattered, running for shelter. King agonized over what had happened. Special Collections / University of Memphis Libraries

The dignity of the march led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on behalf of striking sanitation workers March 28, 1968, soon gave way to disorder; hope turned to horror. Bernard Lee cleared the way for Dr. King and Rev. Ralph Abernathy. Behind Lee is Rev. Henry Logan Starks and Roy Turks (right) of the Invaders, a loosely knit group of young activists. Witnesses said a group of about 200 youths began breaking windows and looting along Beale Street about 20 minutes after the march began. Police moved in with tear gas and nightsticks. March participants scattered, running for shelter. By day's end, one person was dead and more than 60 were injured. King agonized over what had happened and vowed to return to lead a peaceful mass march. On Wednesday, April 3, King again returned to Memphis. Sam Melhorn/The Commercial Appeal File

The tragic tally of March 28, 1968: one killed, 62 injured. John Gaston Hospital was crowded with victims of the violence that erupted during a march led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on behalf of striking sanitation workers. Barney Sellers / The Commercial Appeal

On April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his aides were at the Lorraine Motel discussing the restraining order King had just received barring he and his aides from leading another march in Memphis without court approval. On March 28, a march led by Dr. King on behalf of striking sanitation workers erupted into violence along Main and Beale Streets. King, who was staying in Room 306, also met with young people and other groups of strike supporters who wished to be part of future protests. "Dr. King made it very clear to me that day that his whole future depended on having a nonviolent march in Memphis. He represented the riot as a complete fiasco...," said attorney Lucius Burch. The march, tentatively planned for Friday, April 5, was rescheduled for the following Monday to allow time for marchers from around the country to participate. On April 4, at 6:01 p.m., an assassin's bullet found Dr. King on the balcony of the Lorraine just outside his second-floor room. Barney Sellers, The Commercial Appeal

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (at right on balcony) followed by his aides Ralph Abernathy, Jesse Jackson, Hosea Williams and two unidentified men at the Lorraine Motel Wednesday afternoon, April 3, 1968. That evening, Dr. King delivered his last public speech to an audience of more than 2,000 at Mason Temple. He told the crowd that a mass march must be held the following Monday to refocus attention on the sanitation strike. The march, which had been tentatively scheduled for Friday, April 5, was changed to Monday to allow time for marchers from around the country to participate. Due to the disorder that erupted during a March 28 march led by Dr. King, he and his aides had been served a temporary restraining order earlier that day barring such a march without court approval. In his speech that night, he said Memphis has "refused to be honest with its public servants who happen to be garbage men." The speech has become known as the "Mountaintop" speech. "Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain, and I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people, will get to the promised land." An assassin's bullet found Dr. King on this balcony the next day at 6:01 p.m., dropping him to the cold concrete outside his second-floor room. At the time of his death, Dr. King was in the midst of his third visit to Memphis in support of the striking sanitation workers. Tom Barber/Mem Press-Scimitar, The Commercial Appeal

On April 3, 1968, the Rev. Ralph Abernathy led Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Rev. James M. Lawson Jr. and others into Room 307 at the Lorraine Motel to discuss a restraining order King had just received barring he and his aides from leading another march in Memphis without court approval. On March 28, a march led by King on behalf of striking sanitation workers erupted into violence along Main and Beale streets. King, who was staying in Room 306, also met with young people and other groups of strike supporters who wished to be part of future protests. "Dr. King made it very clear to me that day that his whole future depended on having a nonviolent march in Memphis. He represented the riot as a complete fiasco ...," said attorney Lucius Burch. The march, tentatively planned for Friday, April 5, was rescheduled for the following Monday to allow time for marchers from around the country to participate. On April 4, at 6:01 p.m., an assassin's bullet found King on the balcony of the Lorraine just outside his second-floor room. Behind Lawson is Jesse Epps (hidden), AFSCME field representative; Bill Mahoney, SCLC staff; and Solomon Jones (hidden behind Mahoney), King's chauffeur while in Memphis. Barney Sellers / The Commercial

5:55 p.m. Thursday, April 4, 1968 - Martin Luther King stepped through the door of room 306 at the Lorraine Hotel and spoke with associates in the courtyard below. This iphoto was made the day after the assassination. Special Collections/University of Memphis Libraries

Police officers soon discovered the bathroom window at 418 1/2 South Main through which they say James Earl Ray aimed when he shot Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, approximately 207 feet away, April 4, 1968. The civil rights leader was standing near the center of the view from the window, where several officers could be seen the next day. At the time of his death, Dr. King was on his third visit to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. The FBI used fingerprints to identify James Earl Ray as the suspect on April 19. He was arrested June 8 in London and returned to Memphis on July 19. He pleaded guilty to the murder March 10, 1969, and received a 99-year sentence. Ray died Thursday April 23, 1998 in a Nashville hospital. It was exactly 31 years earlier, April 23, 1967, that he escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary at Jefferson City, Missouri. Robert Williams / The Commercial

5:50-6:00 p.m. Thursday, April 4, 1968 - James Earl Ray entered the rooming house bathroom, as seen in this photo shot the day after King's assination, and stepped into the bathtub. Bob Williams, The Commercial Appeal

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot at 6:01 p.m. April 4, 1968 as he stood on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel. The shot was believed to have come from a South Main rooming house bathroom window, a distance of approximately 205 feet. The bathroom was heavily dusted for fingerprints, leaving a handprint impression on the wall as seen in this photograph made the next day. It is not believed this handprint was among the fingerprint evidence implicating James Earl Ray. If a match was made, the results are unknown. Ray, using the alias John Willard, had checked into the rooming house on the afternoon of April 4. He spent the previous night at the New Rebel Motel on Lamar, registering under the alias Eric S. (Starvo) Galt. On April 11, the FBI inadvertently revealed they were seeking Galt for questioning in the murder. On April 19, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover said a 15-day check of fingerprints of more than 53,000 wanted criminals established that Galt and Ray were the same person. Ray was arrested June 8 in London and returned to Memphis on July 19. He pleaded guilty to the murder March 10, 1969, and received a 99-year sentence. (By Robert Williams / The Commercial Appeal) Robert Williams / The Commercial

Police looking for blood splatters near a light fixture at the Lorraine Motel the night of April 4, 1968. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot at 6:01 p.m. as he stood on the balcony outside room 306 at the motel. The shot was believed to have come from a South Main rooming house bathroom window, a distance of approximately 207 feet. James Earl Ray, using the alias John Willard, had checked into the rooming house earlier that afternoon. He spent the previous night at the New Rebel Motel on Lamar, registering under the alias Eric S. (Starvo) Galt. On April 11, the FBI inadvertently revealed they were seeking Galt for questioning in the murder. On April 19, Galt was identified as Missouri prison escapee James Earl Ray. FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover said a 15-day check of fingerprints of more than 53,000 wanted criminals had definitely established that Galt and Ray were the same person. Ray was arrested June 8 in London and returned to Memphis on July 19. He pleaded guilty to the murder March 10, 1969, and received a 99-year sentence. Sam Melhorn / The Commercial App

Patrolman Louis E. McKay (right), a member of the police Emergency Squad, was among the first officers to arrive in the area after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. April 4, 1968. He was ordered to guard a bundle discovered near a doorway at 424 South Main. The bundle contained a 30.06 Remington rifle, which officials said later was the weapon that killed Dr. King. "I was sort of frustrated because I was told to stand there and guard that weapon and don't let anybody touch it. I would rather have been looking in buildings, behind buildings.....," said McKay in a 1992 interview. At the time of his death, Dr. King was on his third visit to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. Sam Melhorn / The Commercial App

The bundle discovered in a doorway of Canipe's Amusement Company at 424 South Main after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and fatally wounded April 4, 1968. The bundle contained a 30.06 Remington rifle, which officials said later was the weapon that killed Dr. King. At the time of his death, Dr. King was on his third visit to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. Bob Williams, The Commercial Appeal

Aides of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. confer with police at the University of Tennessee Medical Units Thursday night, April 4, 1968. Dr. King was shot at 6:01 p.m. as he stood on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel. He died in the emergency room of St. Joseph Hospital about an hour later. Dr. King's body remained at the hospital until shortly before 9 p.m. when it was carried to the morgue at John Gaston Hospital (which is apparently where this was made). King's top aide, Rev. Ralph Abernathy, had to make the official identification of the body. Following an autopsy, it was taken to R. S. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home on Vance. Vernon Matthews / The Commercial

One day after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Memphis Mayor Henry Loeb, a shotgun beneath his desk, greets about 300 black and white ministers in his office April 5, 1968, shaking hands with the Rev. Joseph P. Toney. The ministers were calling for an end to the sanitation strike and union recognition for the workers. Robert Williams

One fireman received minor injuries when a two-alarm fire destroyed a storage warehouse of Valley Products Co., 384 Brooks Road in the late afternoon April 6, 1968. The April 4 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shocked the world and touched off rioting in cities nationwide. In Memphis, there were scattered reports of shooting and arson for several days. One man was shot and fatally wounded by police Thursday night at a liquor store at Trigg and Florida. Police said he was carrying a rifle. Although preliminary investigations of this fire ruled out that it was set, national guardsmen were standing watch nearby. Sam Melhorn, The Commercial Appeal

Firebombing suspects were searched the night of April 5, 1968 on the front porch of a house at Tunica and Chelsea after three Molotov cocktails were thrown at a nearby Loeb's laundry branch minutes earlier. The arresting guardsmen said the youth at right had a soft drink bottle filled with kerosene in his pocket when they entered the house. With a tight curfew in effect and the National Guard out in force, there were fewer disturbances in Memphis than in many other major cities following the April 4 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Barney Sellers

Mayor Henry Loeb and his family owned a successful chain of cleaners, barbecue restaurants and other businesses in Memphis, but by April 1968 the Loeb name had lost much of its attraction for some citizens. The National Guard was called out the night of April 5, 1968 after an attempted firebombing at the Loebs Laundry Cleaners branch near Tunica and Chelsea. But with a tight curfew in effect and the National Guard out in force, there were fewer disturbances in Memphis than in many other major cities. Jack E. Cantrell / Memphis Press

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow, Coretta Scott King, and three of the couple's four children led a memorial march through downtown Memphis Monday April 8, 1968. Rev. Ralph Abernathy and many other well known civil rights and union leaders were among an estimated 19,000 people from across the nation participating. Mrs. King and others spoke to the mass of mourners from a platform at City Hall plaza. "Those of you who believe in what Martin Luther King stood for - I would challenge you today to see that his spirit never dies. We are going to continue his work to make all people truly free and to make every person feel he is a human being," said Mrs. King. At the time of his death, April 4, Dr. King was on his third visit to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. The Commercial Appeal

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow, Coretta Scott King, and three of the couple's four children - Yolanda King, Martin Luther King III and Dexter King - led a memorial march in downtown Memphis April 8, 1968. Rev. Ralph Abernathy and many other well known civil rights and union leaders were among an estimated 19,000 people from across the nation participating. Mrs. King spoke to the mass of mourners from a platform at City Hall plaza. "He gave his life for the poor of the world, the garbage workers of Memphis and the peasants of Vietnam. Nothing hurt him more than that man could attempt in no way to solve his problems except through violence," said Mrs. King. At the time of his death, on April 4th, Dr. King was on his third visit to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. Among others who can be identified in this photograph are from left to right: Rev. James M. Lawson Jr. (at extreme front left edge); King aide Rev. James Bevel with Harry Belafonte; Memphis Police and Fire Director Holloman (looking up, in front of Belafonte) another King aide, Rev. Hosea Williams (foreground in front of King kids); Rev. H. Ralph Jackson (just right of center foreground); Andrew Young (over and behind Jackson's left shoulder). Robert Williams / The Commercial

Two men weep openly during the playing of the National Anthem at a memorial service at Crump Stadium in Memphis, Tenn., April 7, 1968, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated in Memphis last Thursday. Sanitation worker, Walter Bradin, 66, center (leaning over), of Memphis, said "I love him (King), I love that song." "Memphis Cares a grassroots attempt to restore the health and good will of a shaken city. The citizens group sponsored the assembly at Crump Stadium, a popular site for high school football games, that attracted about 7,000 people. White and black speakers called for unity and eulogized Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tom Barber / MPS

A youth hoisted an upraised fist - a symbol of black power - as the airplane carrying Coretta Scott King and the body of her husband departed Memphis for Atlanta April 5, 1968. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated the day before as he stood on the balcony outside room 306 at the Lorraine Motel. At the time of his death, King was on his third trip to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. In a taped 1968 sermon of Dr. King's that was played at his funeral, he said: "Every now and then I think about my own death, and I think about my own funeral. Every now and then I ask myself, 'What is it that I would want said?'....Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize. That isn't important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards....I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity. Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace....That I was a drum major for righteousness." Charles Nicholas, Charles Nicholas / The Commercia

A passport photo of James Earl Ray, using the alias of Ramon George Sneyd, made in Lisbon, Portugal in May 1968. This photograph was used in his second passport issued in Lisbon, May 16, 1968, after it was discovered that Sneyd was misspelled in the original passport issued in Ottawa. Shelby County Register of Deeds

A newly restored film found at the Shelby County Register of Deeds office shows James Earl Ray as he was returned to Memphis on July 19, 1968. Ray is given a physical examination prior to being placed in a cell. Shelby County Register of Deeds

The room James Earl Ray, alias John Willard, rented on South Main as seen April 5, 1968. A chair placed by the window along with the drape pulled back led authorities to believe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had been surveilled from there. He was assassinated at 6:01 p.m. Thursday, April 4 as he stood on the balcony outside room 306 at the Lorraine Motel, directly behind the second floor rooming house at 418 1/2 & 422 1/2 S. Main. Bessie Brewer, resident manager with her husband of the cluster of rooms over 418 & 422 S. Main said, "He knocked on my door about 3:30 and asked if he could rent a room. I showed him a room toward the north side of the building, but he was not interested in that one. Then I showed him one further to the south." (where there were no obstructions to the view facing the balcony) Mrs. Brewer said he finally chose a room, which was near the bathroom from which police believe the shot was fired. She said the man was tall, possibly 6 feet, and was wearing dark clothing. When asked about the color of his hair, she said it was dark "but I don't believe it was black." Asked about his accent, she said: "He didn't talk any different from anyone else around here." Mrs. Brewer said he appeared to have no luggage. She furnished him two sheets and a pillow for the room. She said he paid her $8.50 for the week and she never saw him again. Ray, using the alias Eric S. (Starvo) Galt, stayed at the New Rebel Motel on Lamar the previous night. On April 11, the FBI inadvertently revealed they were seeking Galt for questioning in the murder. On April 19, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover announced that fingerprints revealed Galt was Missouri prison escapee James Earl Ray. Ray was arrested June 8 in London and returned to Memphis on July 19. He pleaded guilty to the murder March 10, 1969, and received a 99-year sentence. (By Robert Williams / The Commercial Appeal) Robert Williams / The Commercial

Richard Pullen, (third from left), a 27-year-old auditor from Brooklyn N. Y. arranged a few days off from his job and joined an estimated 19,000 people from across the nation participating in a memorial march through downtown Memphis for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Monday, April 8, 1968. The march to City Hall moved quietly - almost silently - down Main Street, the droning of the police helicopter overhead and the shouts of National Guardsmen to "clear the way" the loudest sounds on the street thronged with people. "I don't think most people realize what Martin Luther King meant to these people," he said earlier as he passed out placards reading "Honor King: End Racism!" to marchers in front of Clayborn Temple. "Violence is absolutely the worst thing that can happen. It polarizes the people involved and accomplishes nothing," said Pullen. Pullen saw King's death as a high price paid in furthering the cause of nonviolence. "His violent death will help greatly the cause of nonviolence. Now that he is dead - much more will be accomplished in his name than he could have accomplished in a lifetime," he said. At the time of his death, April 4, Dr. King was on his third trip to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. (The Commercial Appeal) The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

Memphis Police Officer K.N. Overall watches over sanitation workers who stayed on the job during the strike, such as these men Feb. 15, 1968. The city had hired some 31 replacement workers as of that afternoon. James R. Reid / Memphis Press-Sc

Rev. James Lawson (carrying sign) and youths marching in support of striking sanitation workers February 26, 1968. At left is P. J. Ciampa, AFSCME national director of field services. (white coat in hat). William Leaptrott / MPS

The tensions erupted into violence for the first time Feb. 23, 1968. Disagreement over what sparked the incident continues: Was it because marchers rocked a police car? Or did a police car first cross into the strikers lane and graze a woman? What is certain is that police sprayed Mace into the faces of marchers  including ministers  near the Goldsmiths department store at Main and Gayoso. The protesters, some blind from Mace, dispersed in confusion.
 Jack E. Cantrell/MPS

A meeting of some 1,500 strikers and supporters at Clayborn Temple Feb 26, 1968. The meeting was sponsored by more than 100 ministers, a few of them white. More than $500 was taken up in a collection for the famlies of strikers, and gifts and pledges from churches and other organizations brought the total raised to more than $1,500. James R. Reid/Memphis Press-Scimitar

Strike supporters shouted at workers who crossed the picket line March 8, 1968 at the city sanitation department station on Democrat Road. About a dozen pickets sat down and blocked an entrance to the station, but police ordered them to move. City Public Works Director Charles Blackburn said about 70 trucks were collecting garbage then, the most since the strike began. Normally, about 180 trucks would be active. Tom Barber / MPS

Police officers like Lt. Don W. Williams were not exempt from injury during the March 28, 1968 mayhem. Williams was struck in the head with a stick while clearing people from the Beale Street area. He received a concussion and his wound required more than 20 stitches. Jack E. Cantrell / MPS

The scene along Beale Street following the breakup of a march led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. March 28,1968. In the wake of the violence, a curfew was imposed and more than 3,800 National Guardsmen were rushed to the city. Special Collections/University of Memphis Libraries

The tensions of the sanitation strike erupted into violence for the first time Feb. 23, 1968. Disagreement over what sparked the incident continues: was it because marchers rocked a police car? Or did a police car cross into the strikers' lane and graze a woman? What is certain is that police sprayed Mace into the faces of marchers - including ministers - near the Goldsmith's department store at Main and Gayoso. The protesters, some blind from Mace, dispersed in confusion. "Our...position was that the police would not have Maced ministers of the white community....knowing they were ministers...We felt this was done because we were black," said Dr. H. Ralph Jackson, director of the Minimum Salary Department of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Jack E. Cantrell, Courtesy Special Collections/University of Memphis Libraries

James Earl Ray is believed to have fired the shot that killed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from a bathroom window (fourth window from right) in the back of a South Main rooming house in Memphis on April 4, 1968. Dr. King was shot at 6:01 p.m. as he stood on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel, a distance of approximately 207 feet. The rifle was found in the front doorway of Canipe Amusement Company, 424 South Main, which was in the building at left. The second floor rooming house at 418 1/2 & 422 1/2 consisted of 16 units connected by a walkway. On the lower level were businesses including Jim's Grill at 418 S. Main, owned by Loyd Jowers. Ray used the alias, John Willard, when he checked into the boarding house on April 3 and had used a different alias, Eric S. Galt, when he registered at the New Rebel Motel on Lamar the previous night. Robert Williams / The Commercial

On Friday morning, April 5, 1968, hundreds of mourners paid tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at R.S. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home on Vance. Among those who stopped at his casket, as it was about to be transported to the airport, were two of his aides, Andrew Young (at the end of the casket) and Rev. Hosea Williams (right). In his 1996 autobiography, "An Easy Burden," Andrew Young wrote: "No matter how one tries to prepare for death, the reality is difficult to accept. Now that Martin's death, which had always lurked just below the surface of our consciousness, had actually occured, we were, I suppose, all struggling to find a way to accept it. My first gut reaction was classic anger and denial: Martin couldn't leave us with all this mess. It seemed unfair that he was "free" from innumerable problems, while we, the living, were left to try to cope without him. We had been just getting by with him, how could we get along without him?" Dr. King was shot the day before, as he stood on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel. At the time of his death, King was on his third trip to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. Charles Nicholas / The Commercia

Memphis garbage trucks remained silent and unmanned Feb. 12, 1968, the first day of a sanitation strike that would mix tragedy and triumph, death and dignity. Almost 1,000 of the city's 1,100 sanitation workers did not report to work after discussions about wages and job conditions broke down between the city and Local 1733 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Barney Sellers / The Commercial Appeal

The tensions erupted into violence for the first time Feb. 23, 1968. Disagreement over what sparked the incident continues: Was it because marchers rocked a police car? Or did a police car first cross into the strikers lane and graze a woman? What is certain is that police sprayed Mace into the faces of marchers  including ministers  near the Goldsmiths department store at Main and Gayoso. The protesters, some blind from Mace, dispersed in confusion.
Our . . . position was that the police would not have Maced ministers of the white community . . . knowing they were ministers. . . . We felt this was done because we were black.  Dr. H. Ralph Jackson, director of the Minimum Salary Department of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. CA files

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was on a tour of the South to recruit volunteers for his "Poor People's Campaign", spoke to an overflow crowd at Mason Temple March 18, 1968. Estimates on the size of the crowd ranged from 9,000-13,000. Dr. King pledged to return to Memphis on March 22 to lead a march in support of striking sanitation workers. He called for a general work stoppage by black Memphians if the city did not agree to a union dues checkoff and called for the white community to give more support to the workers. "Along with wages and other securities, you're struggling for the right to organize. This is the way to gain power. Don't go back to work until all your demands are met", Dr. King told the crowd. An unusual springtime snowfall postponed plans for the March 22 protest. The march was held March 28 and ended in disorder with looting and vandalism along Beale and Main Streets. By day's end, one person was dead and more than 60 injured. King would agonize over what happened and vowed to return to Memphis to lead a peaceful mass march. On his return for a planned "March on Memphis", an assassin's bullet struck Dr.King as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel April 4. AFSCME International president Jerry Wurf is at King's left. Next to Wurf is Rev. Malcolm Blackburn. Behind King is AFSCME national director of field services, P.J. Ciampa (rising from his seat). Rev. Ralph Abernathy to his left and AFSCME field representative Jesse Epps talking to Ciampa. At King's right is Bishop A.B. McEwen. Vernon Matthews, The Commercial Appeal

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was on a tour of the South to recruit volunteers for his "Poor People's Campaign", spoke to an overflow crowd at Mason Temple March 18, 1968. Crowd estimates ranged from 9,000-13,000. Speaking in support of striking sanitation workers, King called for a general work stoppage by black Memphians if the city did not agree to a union dues checkoff. "Along with wages and other securities, you're struggling for the right to organize. This is the way to gain power. Don't go back to work until all your demands are met", Dr. King told the crowd. He pledged to return to Memphis on March 22 to lead a march that was postponed because of a near record snowfall. The protest was rescheduled for March 28. The march ended in disorder with looting and vandalism along Beale and Main Streets. Police moved in with tear gas and nightsticks. By day's end, one person had been killed and more than 60 injured. King would agonize over what happened and vowed to return to lead a peaceful mass march. On Wednesday, April 3, King again returned to Memphis. That night, more than 2,000 listened as he gave his famous "Mountaintop" speech at Mason Temple. The next day, at 6:01p.m., an assassin's bullet struck Dr. King as he stood on the balcony outside room 306 at the Lorraine Motel. Vernon Matthews, The Commercial Appeal

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. held a press conference Thursday, March 28, 1968 after a march in support of striking sanitation workers broke up in disorder. He was joined by Rev. James M. Lawson Jr. (left) and Dr. H. Ralph Jackson. He said people "on the sidelines" started the trouble, not the marchers. The three leaders vowed the protests would continue. At another press conference on March 29, before leaving for Atlanta, King vowed to return to Memphis to lead a peaceful mass march. "We will go out of our way to see that the demonstrations remain nonviolent," he said. Dr. King returned to Memphis Wednesday, April 3, planning to lead a national "March on Memphis." King was shot and fatally wounded April 4 as he stood on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel. Rev. Lawson had invited King to Memphis to address the striking workers and bring national attention to their cause. His first appearance had been March 18 at Mason Temple. Lawson was pastor of Centenary United Methodist Church and strategy committee chairman for Community on the Move for Equality (COME), a black community movement supporting the strike. Jackson was director of the Minimum Salary Division of the African Methodist Episcopal Church as well as a member of COME. Jack Cantrell, Mississippi Valley Collection

Members of the audience cheer during speeches at City Hall plaza April 8, 1968. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow, Coretta Scott King, and three of the couple's four children led a memorial march through downtown Memphis that Monday. Rev. Ralph Abernathy and many other well known civil rights and union leaders were among an estimated 19,000 people from across the nation participating. Mrs. King and others spoke to the mass of mourners from a platform at City Hall plaza. "Those of you who believe in what Martin Luther King stood for - I would challenge you today to see that his spirit never dies. We are going to continue his work to make all people truly free and to make every person feel he is a human being," said Mrs. King. At the time of his death, April 4, Dr. King was on his third visit to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. The Commercial Appeal

The man who served as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s right-hand, the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, (center of table) assumed leadership of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference April 5, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel and promised to make the Monday April 8 march that King had planned. He also vowed to take up the scheduled "Poor People's Campaign" in Washington D.C. At left is Andrew Young and another King aide, Bernard Lee is at right. Coretta Scott King came to Memphis in a chartered jet that morning to take her husband's body home to Atlanta. Earlier, hundreds of mourners filed past his open casket at R.S. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home on Vance. Dr. King was assassinated at 6:01 p.m., April 4, as he stood on the balcony outside room 306 at the Lorraine. At the time of his death, King was on his third trip to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. Others in the photograph directly behind the table are left to right: Jesse Epps, AFSCME field representative; Rev. James Orange, aide to Dr. King; (unidentified, but believed to be Rev. T. Y. Rogers, another SCLC staffer); Rev. James Bevel (behind Abernathy) and Rev. Hosea Williams (behind Lee), both aides to Dr. King. The Commercial Appeal

An estimated 19,000 people from across the nation participated in a memorial march through downtown Memphis for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. April 8, 1968. Approximately 4,800 National Guardsmen were on duty to make sure the march remained peaceful. Dr. King's widow, Coretta Scott King, and three of the couple's four children - Yolanda King, Martin Luther King III and Dexter King - led the march. Rev. Ralph Abernathy and many other well known civil rights leaders joined the mass of mourners. Mrs. King spoke to the crowd from a platform at City Hall plaza. " Those of you who believe in what Martin Luther King stood for - I would challenge you today to see that his spirit never dies. We are going to continue his work to make all people truly free and to make every person feel he is a human being," she said. At the time of his death on April 4th, Dr. King was on his third visit to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

11:20 a.m. Wednesday, April 3, 1968 - Police began arriving at the Lorraine Hotel shortly after Martin Luther King and his associates. This postcard shows the exterior. Courtesy family of Walter L. Bailey

Memphis City Councilman Wyeth Chandler (who succeeded Henry Loeb as mayor of Memphis in 1972) talked with local AFSCME president T.O. Jones at a Feb. 22, 1968 Public Works Committee meeting ten days into a sanitation workers strike. The council chamber, which held 422 seats, was crowded with more than 700 strikers clamoring for attention. Union leaders, ministers and workers rejected an offer to move to The Auditorium. The event was dubbed the "City Hall Sit-In" by local newspapers. "I felt that these persons (council members) who were elected would see and would understand the problems of the community. But it seems they were on a different stand altogether on this thing...they were split on different things," said T. O. Jones. Robert Williams / The Commercial

March 14, 1968 - Rev. Samuel Billy Kyles used a garbage can to collect money for striking workers at a rally at Mason Temple. More than 9,000 people attended and were roused by the oratory of Roy Wilkins, national executive director of the NAACP, and Bayard Rustin of the A. Philip Randolph Institute. Jack E. Cantrell / MPS

The tensions erupted into violence for the first time Feb. 23, 1968. Disagreement over what sparked the incident continues: Was it because marchers rocked a police car? Or did a police car first cross into the strikers lane and graze a woman? What is certain is that police sprayed Mace into the faces of marchers  including ministers  near the Goldsmiths department store at Main and Gayoso. The protesters, some blind from Mace, dispersed in confusion. Tom Barber / MPS

The tensions erupted into violence for the first time Feb. 23, 1968. Disagreement over what sparked the incident continues: Was it because marchers rocked a police car? Or did a police car first cross into the strikers lane and graze a woman? What is certain is that police sprayed Mace into the faces of marchers  including ministers  near the Goldsmiths department store at Main and Gayoso. The protesters, some blind from Mace, dispersed in confusion.
Our . . . position was that the police would not have Maced ministers of the white community . . . knowing they were ministers. . . . We felt this was done because we were black.
 Dr. H. Ralph Jackson, director of the Minimum Salary Department of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
(By Jack E. Cantrell/Memphis Press-Scimitar NOTE: This appears to be the same man, surrounded by police, whose face is being sprayed with mace in another Cantrell photograph. Jack E. Cantrell / MPS

Strike supporters, including Rev. Ezekiel Bell (center, holding up hand) March 8, 1968 at the city sanitation department station on Democrat Road. About a dozen pickets sat down and blocked an entrance to the station, but police ordered them to move. City Public Works Director Charles Blackburn said about 70 trucks were collecting garbage then, the most since the strike began. Normally, about 180 trucks would be active. Tom Barber / Memphis Press-Scimi

The dignity of the march led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on March 28, 1968, soon gave way to disorder; hope turned to horror. Witnesses said a group of about 200 youths began breaking windows and looting about 20 minutes after the march began. Police moved in with tear gas and nightsticks. March participants scattered, running for shelter. King agonized over what had happened. Special Collections / University of Memphis Libraries

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at a press conference March 29, 1968 at the Holiday Inn-Rivermont. "We are going to have a massive nonviolent demonstration in Memphis," said Dr. King before flying back to Atlanta. The dignity of the previous day's march, led by Dr. King on behalf of striking sanitation workers, soon gave way to disorder; hope turned to horror. Witnesses said a group of about 200 youths began breaking windows and looting about 20 minutes after the march began. Police moved in with tear gas and nightsticks. March participants scattered, running for shelter. By day's end, one person had been killed and more than 60 injured. King agonized over what had happened and vowed to return to lead a peaceful mass march. On Wednesday, April 3, Dr. King again returned to Memphis. That night, more than 2,000 listened as he gave his famous "Mountaintop" speech at Mason Temple. The next day, at 6:01 p.m., King was struck by an assassin's bullet as he stood on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel. Jack E. Cantrell/Memphis Press-Scimitar

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spent some two hours at Centenary Methodist Church at 584 E. McLemore, shortly after arriving in Memphis April 3, 1968. King went to the church, pastored by Rev. James Lawson, to meet with local black ministers to discuss ways to avoid the previous week's violence in the march planned for April 8. Tom Barber / Memphis Press-Scimi

The ambulance carrying Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. travels North on Main Street minutes after he was shot April 4, 1968. Dr. King, who was in the midst of his third visit to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers, was shot at 6:01 p.m. as he stood on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel. King died in the emergency room of St. Joseph Hospital at 7:05 p.m. In the background (last building on the left hand side of the street) is 424 South Main, where a bundle was dropped containing the 30.06 Remington Rifle believed to have been the murder weapon. (By Robert Williams / The Commercial Appeal) Bob Williams, Robert Williams / The Commercial

A Memphis policeman stands watch as the man who served as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s right-hand, the Rev. Ralph Abernathy, assumed leadership of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference April 5, 1968 at the Lorraine Motel and promised to make the Monday April 8 march that King had planned. He also vowed to take up the scheduled "Poor People's Campaign" in Washington D.C. Coretta Scott King came to Memphis in a chartered airplane that morning to take her husband's body home to Atlanta. Earlier, hundreds of mourners filed past his open casket at R.S. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home on Vance. Dr. King was assassinated at 6:01 p.m., April 4, as he stood on the balcony outside room 306 at the Lorraine. At the time of his death, King was on his third trip to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. The Commercial Appeal

The first of approximately 1,000 National Guardsmen arrived in Memphis Sunday April 7, 1968 to bolster the more than 3,800 already on duty to maintain order following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4. The additional guardsmen were deemed necessary for the next day's memorial march. "All possible precautionary measures are being taken," said Fire and Police Director Frank Holloman. With a curfew in effect and the National Guard out in force, there were fewer disturbances in Memphis than in many other major cities. The new arrivals were members of Headquarters and Headquarters Company of the 1st Battalion of the 117th Mechanized Infantry from Johnson City. Sam Melhorn / The Commercial App

At City Hall plaza Monday, April 8, 1968, a man wept. Coretta Scott King spoke to thousands of people - the poor, the powerful, the famous and the unknown - as they crowded the plaza. "How many more must die before we can really have a free and true and peaceful society? How long will it take?", she asked. A day later, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was eulogized at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church during a nationally televised funeral. Talks on the sanitation strike between the City of Memphis and union officials resumed after King's death and continued through Easter weekend April 13-14. King was assassinated April 4 as he stood on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel. The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

"Honor King - End Racism" was among the slogans on signs carried by those marching in memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., April 8, 1968. Dr. King's widow, Coretta Scott King, and three of the couple's four children led the march through downtown Memphis that Monday. Rev. Ralph Abernathy and many other well known civil rights and union leaders were among an estimated 19,000 people from across the nation participating. Mrs. King and others spoke to the mass of mourners from a platform at City Hall plaza. "Those of you who believe in what Martin Luther King stood for - I would challenge you today to see that his spirit never dies. We are going to continue his work to make all people truly free and to make every person feel he is a human being," said Mrs. King. At the time of his death, April 4, Dr. King was on his third visit to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. (The Commercial Appeal) The Commercial Appeal, The Commercial Appeal

A man on Main Street implores others to "No, don't loot" following the breakup of a march led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. March 28,1968. In the wake of the violence, a curfew was imposed and more than 3,800 National Guardsmen were rushed to the city. Sam Melhorn / The Commercial App

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow, Coretta Scott King, arrives at Memphis Metropolitan Airport April 8, 1968. Mrs. King and three of her four children led what became a memorial march through downtown Memphis that day. Rev. Ralph Abernathy and other prominent civil rights and union leaders were among an estimated 19,000 people from across the nation participating. Mrs. King spoke to the mass of mourners from a platform at City Hall plaza. "He gave his life for the poor of the world, the garbage workers of Memphis and the peasants of Vietnam. Nothing hurt him more than that man could attempt in no way to solve his problems except through violence," said Mrs. King. At the time of his death, April 4, Dr. King was on his third visit to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. (By James R. Reid, Memphis Press-Scimitar) Jim Reid, Mississippi Valley Collection

A Memphis police department photo of Ed Redditt dated May 23, 1967. In 1968, Redditt was a black Memphis police detective and was removed from an observation post next to the Lorraine Motel on April 4, just two hours before the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Redditt maintained surveillance of the motel on April 3 and 4 until he was called back to headquarters to meet with then-Police Chief James McDonald, Fire Chief Frank C. Holloman and an unidentified Secret Service official. They placed him under police protection (Melvin Burgess, later the city's police director, was part of the detail) because of reports that Redditt was the target of death threats. The Commercial Appeal

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was on a tour of the South to recruit volunteers for his "Poor People's Campaign", spoke to an overflow crowd at Mason Temple March 18, 1968. Crowd estimates ranged from 9,000-13,000. Speaking in support of striking sanitation workers, King called for a general work stoppage by black Memphians if the city did not agree to a union dues checkoff. "Along with wages and other securities, you're struggling for the right to organize. This is the way to gain power. Don't go back to work until all your demands are met", Dr. King told the crowd. He pledged to return to Memphis on March 22 to lead a march that was postponed because of a near record snowfall. The protest was rescheduled for March 28. The march ended in disorder with looting and vandalism along Beale and Main Streets. Police moved in with tear gas and nightsticks. By day's end, one person had been killed and more than 60 injured. King would agonize over what happened and vowed to return to lead a peaceful mass march. On Wednesday, April 3, King again returned to Memphis. That night, more than 2,000 listened as he gave his famous "Mountaintop" speech at Mason Temple. The next day, at 6:01p.m., an assassin's bullet struck Dr. King as he stood on the balcony outside room 306 at the Lorraine Motel. (By Vernon Matthews / copyright, The Commercial Appeal) Vernon Matthews, The Commercial Appeal

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who was on a tour of the South to recruit volunteers for his "Poor People's Campaign", spoke to an overflow crowd at Mason Temple March 18, 1968. Crowd estimates ranged from 9,000-13,000. Speaking in support of striking sanitation workers, King called for a general work stoppage by black Memphians if the city did not agree to a union dues checkoff. "Along with wages and other securities, you're struggling for the right to organize. This is the way to gain power. Don't go back to work until all your demands are met", Dr. King told the crowd. He pledged to return to Memphis on March 22 to lead a march that was postponed because of a near record snowfall. The protest was rescheduled for March 28. The march ended in disorder with looting and vandalism along Beale and Main Streets. Police moved in with tear gas and nightsticks. By day's end, one person had been killed and more than 60 injured. King would agonize over what happened and vowed to return to lead a peaceful mass march. On Wednesday, April 3, King again returned to Memphis. That night, more than 2,000 listened as he gave his famous "Mountaintop" speech at Mason Temple. The next day, at 6:01p.m., an assassin's bullet struck Dr. King as he stood on the balcony outside room 306 at the Lorraine Motel. Vernon Matthews, The Commercial Appeal

On April 3, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his aides were at the Lorraine Motel discussing the restraining order King had just received barring he and his aides from leading another march in Memphis without court approval. On March 28, a march led by Dr. King on behalf of striking sanitation workers erupted into violence along Main and Beale Streets. King, who was staying in Room 306, also met with young people and other groups of strike supporters who wished to be part of future protests. "Dr. King made it very clear to me that day that his whole future depended on having a nonviolent march in Memphis. He represented the riot as a complete fiasco...," said attorney Lucius Burch. The march, tentatively planned for Friday, April 5, was rescheduled for the following Monday to allow time for marchers from around the country to participate. On April 4, at 6:01 p.m., an assassin's bullet found Dr. King on the balcony of the Lorraine just outside his second-floor room. Barney Sellers, The Commercial Appeal

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. along with his aides, including Bernard Lee, leaves his room at the Holiday Inn-Rivermont in Memphis March 29, 1968. The previous day, a march led by Dr. King on behalf of striking sanitation workers broke up in disorder. Main and Beale Streets were littered with bricks and broken glass and dappled with blood. By day's end, one person had been killed and more than 60 injured. King agonized over what had happened and vowed to return to Memphis to lead a peaceful mass march. "We will go out of our way to see that the demonstrations remain nonviolent," he said at a press conference before leaving for Atlanta. On Wednesday, April 3, King again returned to Memphis. The next day, at 6:01 p.m., King was shot and fatally wounded as he stood on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel. Bob Williams, The Commercial Appeal

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at a press conference March 29, 1968 at the Holiday Inn-Rivermont. "We are going to have a massive nonviolent demonstration in Memphis," said Dr. King before flying back to Atlanta. The dignity of the previous day's march, led by Dr. King on behalf of striking sanitation workers, soon gave way to disorder; hope turned to horror. Witnesses said a group of about 200 youths began breaking windows and looting about 20 minutes after the march began. Police moved in with tear gas and nightsticks. March participants scattered, running for shelter. By day's end, one person had been killed and more than 60 injured. King agonized over what had happened and vowed to return to lead a peaceful mass march. On Wednesday, April 3, King again returned to Memphis. That night, more than 2,000 listened as he gave his famous "Mountaintop" speech at Mason Temple. The next day, at 6:01 p.m., an assassin's bullet struck Dr. King as he stood on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel. Bob Williams, The Commercial Appeal

National Guardsmen read the news of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s death Friday, April 5, 1968. Guardsmen, who had been in Memphis following the violence that erupted during a March 28 march, were recalled to Memphis in the wake of the assassination. Dr. King was assassinated the day before as he stood on the balcony outside room 306 at the Lorraine Motel. At the time of his death, King was on his third trip to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. On Sunday, an additional 1,000 National Guardsmen arrived in Memphis to bolster the more than 3,800 already on duty to maintain order in downtown Memphis where the memorial march was to be held Monday. The Commercial Appeal

A woman cries at Memphis Metropolitan Airport April 5, 1968. Coretta Scott King came to Memphis that morning to take her husband's body home to Atlanta. A crowd of about 150 burst into "We Shall Overcome" on several occasions. At 10:40 a.m. the casket was eased onto a conveyor belt and made its way slowly to the aircraft above. U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark went aboard "to convey to Mrs. King the deepest sympathy of the President and all his Cabinet." The raucous screams of the plane's powerful engines knifed the noise of the crowd. Followers began - for the third time - a stanza of the song Dr. King had said he "liked best of all." King was assassinated the day before as he stood on the balcony outside room 306 at the Lorraine Motel. At the time of his death, King was on his third trip to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. The Commercial Appeal

The copper and bronze casket containing the body of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is loaded into a hearse at R.S. Lewis & Sons Funeral Home on Vance April 5, 1968. Dr. H. Ralph Jackson (on the opposite side of the casket) assisted in loading the casket. The hearse carried the body to Memphis Metropolitan Airport in a 20-car procession, where Coretta Scott King and the couple's four children were waiting to accompany her husband's body home to Atlanta. Dr. King was assassinated the day before as he stood on the balcony outside room 306 at the Lorraine Motel. At the time of his death, King was on his third trip to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. The Commercial Appeal

Memphis Police on South Main after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Thursday evening, April 4, 1968. James Earl Ray is believed to have fired the shot that killed Dr. King from a bathroom window in the back of the rooming house at 418 1/2 South Main. Dr. King was shot at 6:01 p.m. as he stood on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel on Mulberry, directly behind these buildings. A bundle containing a Remington 30.06 rifle was found in the front doorway of Canipe Amusement Company, 424 South Main. At 6:19 p.m., police cars at the scene were radioed that Dr. King was in critical condition. And less than 45 minutes later a grim faced patrolman said, "He's dead." "Oh, my God," said another. "There goes all hell." The second floor rooming house at 418 1/2 & 422 1/2 consisted of 16 units connected by a walkway. On the lower level (418 & 422) were businesses including Jim's Grill at 418 S. Main, owned by Loyd Jowers. Ray used the alias, John Willard, when he checked into the boarding house on April 3 and had used a different alias, Eric S. (Starvo) Galt, when he registered at the New Rebel Motel on Lamar the previous night. The FBI inadvertently revealed on April 11 they were seeking Galt for questioning. On April 19, FBI director J. Edgar Hoover announced that a 15-day check of the fingerprints of more than 53,000 wanted criminals established that Galt was actually Missouri prison escapee James Earl Ray. Ray was arrested June 8 in London and returned to Memphis on July 19. He pleaded guilty to the murder March 10, 1969, and received a 99-year sentence. The Commercial Appeal

Coretta Scott King spoke to thousands of people - the poor, the powerful, the famous and the unknown - as they crowded City Hall plaza April 8, 1968. Other speakers included baby doctor and peace activist Dr. Benjamin Spock; entertainer Harry Belafonte; Walter Reuther, president of the United Auto Workers; and the Most Rev. Joseph A. Durick of the Catholic Diocese of Tennessee. "Those of you who believe in what Martin Luther King stood for - I would challenge you today to see that his spirit never dies. We are going to continue his work to make all people truly free and to make every person feel he is a human being," said Dr. King's widow. King was assassinated April 4 as he stood on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel. At the time, he was in the midst of his third visit to Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. Barney Sellers, The Commercial Appeal

With stenciled signs, printed leaflets and daily marches, support for the sanitation strike became well organized. Daily marches began in February 1968 as did a boycott of businesses associated with Downtown, City Council members or with the family of Mayor Henry Loeb. Marchers usually walked along Main Street from Clayborn Temple AME Church just south of Beale Street to Washington Avenue near City Hall. Jim Shearin / The Commercial Appeal

The airplane carrying the body of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Atlanta flew past the flags of Memphis, Tennessee and the United States which were flying at half-staff Friday, April 5, 1968 at Memphis Metropolitan Airport. Sen. Robert Kennedy chartered the plane to take Coretta Scott King and the couple's children to Memphis to accompany his body home. In his 1989 autobiography, "And The Walls Came Tumbling Down," Ralph Abernathy wrote: "As I recall, there were about thirty-five of us on the plane, with the casket in the rear. It was a solemn trip, and most of us stared out the window and thought our own thoughts. As for me, I thought about Juanita (his wife) and the children - and how they might have felt had it been my body en route to Atlanta in a metal box. I also thought about the future, already crowding in on me with measuring tape, ready to fit me for the next casket." Dr. King was assassinated April 4 as he stood on the balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel. At the time of his death, King was on his third trip to Memphis in support of striking santitation workers. Charles Nicholas, The Commercial Appeal

The coverage of that seminal event foreshadowed how one of the biggest stories in Memphis’ history — an unfolding drama that garnered national and global attention — befell a local media establishment stuck in a different era. In contrast to the reporting that lent moral force to civil rights crusades elsewhere, the city’s media generally responded with tepid interest to the workers’ plight and unalloyed hostility to the walkout and “outsiders” like King.

The two daily newspapers — The Commercial Appeal and the Press-Scimitar, both part of the Scripps-Howard chain — became in no small way a part of the story, strongly backing the refusal of Mayor Henry Loeb to negotiate and drawing public denouncements from strike leaders and workers.

Adrian Rogers, from left, Jack H. Walker and Keith Johnson stand during the commemoration and wreath ceremony Feb. 1, 2018, honoring Robert Walker and Echol Cole, two Memphis sanitation workers who were crushed in a garbage truck 50 years ago. Walker is the son of Robert Walker. For Walker, 61, one of six children, the day his father died was "hell" and the remembrance brought back lots of memories. "It made me feel better that they recognized my daddy," he said.(Photo: Yalonda M. James / The Commercial Appeal)

During a news conference less than two weeks into the strike, the Rev. James Lawson, chairman of the strike committee, implored “Negroes and people of good faith” to refuse to subscribe, buy or even read either newspaper until “latent racism” was purged from their editorial pages and African-Americans were treated as “people before God and before man."

Later, before hundreds of workers gathered in the Mason Temple, nationally known civil rights activist Bayard Rustin said, “I am sure your papers do not report and debate fully the truth of what is happening.”

The primary target of the strike supporters’ ire was The Commercial Appeal, the dominant morning paper with a circulation of some 270,000. In 1968 it still carried a daily cartoon named “Hambone’s Meditations,” featuring an insultingly stereotyped African-American — a “philosophical Southern darkey,” as the paper once called him — who spoke in exaggerated black dialect.

Increasingly frustrated with the coverage of the strike, African-American ministers called for a boycott of the CA and the Press-Scimitar. They also voiced outrage at the CA's continuing publication of "Hambone's Meditations." In the daily cartoon, Hambone used exaggerated black dialect.(Photo: File)

The CA had consistently editorialized against civil rights legislation and — according to the Pulitzer Prize-winning book "The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation" — even provided space to pieces penned by authors citing the supposed “scientific” evidence of the inferiority of African-Americans.

The paper’s editor, Frank Ahlgren, had arrived in Memphis during the 1920s and by the time the strike broke out was widely considered one of the city’s most powerful men. He would acknowledge in a 1991 article, however, that as editor he “never had any idea of being a big champion of Negro rights,” adding that the only African-Americans he had met had been “very ignorant and uneducated people.”

Under Ahlgren, the paper’s stance as the strike began was as predictable as it was unwavering. The city had a “firm and legal foundation” for refusing to negotiate, it said, and although the strikers were predominantly black and their bosses white, the issues behind the walkout were “not racial.”

Frank R. Ahlgren, editor of The Commercial Appeal, holds the "Man of the Year" award given him on Jan. 1, 1968, by the Beale Street Elks as George W. Lee, left, general chairman of the Emancipation Day program, and the Rev. S.H. Herring, pastor of host St. Paul Baptist Church, looked on.(Photo: Sam Melhorn / The Commercial Appeal)

Both daily newspapers' editors ascribed cynical motives to strike leaders, accusing them of conflating a local labor situation with the larger civil rights movement to accrue power and money. Some news stories also portrayed strike leaders unfavorably, particularly T.O. Jones, president of Local 1733 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, who was described in a profile as having a poor work history and sketchy personal background.

Perhaps most galling to workers and their supporters was an editorial cartoon entitled “Beyond the Bounds of Tolerance” featuring a black striker sitting amid putrefying garbage above which the words “Threat of Anarchy” were etched.

Speaking to a large gathering of strikers later that day, AFSCME President Jerry Wurf almost shook with anger as he condemned the “filthy, rotten provocative cartoon.”

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Hundreds march from Clayborn Temple to Memphis City Hall during the Honoring Sanitation Strike March on Monday. The event commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Sanitation Strike.
Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal

In news stories, The CA and Press-Scimitar did provide straightforward and often-compelling reporting on the strike and subsequent demonstrations, including accusations of police brutality.

But as local authors and reporters would later observe, the papers provided little coverage giving readers a humanized look at the workers and explaining why they were striking.

“There was just no appetite (among editors) for the sorts of stories that should have been done,” remembers Thomas BeVier, a CA reporter at the time.

BeVier, now 81, said reporters at the CA realized that given the views of top management at the paper, writing profiles humanizing the strikers would do nothing to help their careers. “You knew intuitively … nobody was going to be very enthusiastic” about such stories, he said.

The newspaper maintained a “hands-off approach” to Lawson even though he quickly emerged as a dominant force in the strike, BeVier said.

“Things that he said kept getting cut from stories, and it bothered the hell out of me.”

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Memphis community leaders attend a special Jubilee Worship service at Mississippi Blvd Christian Church to honor the 50th anniversary of the sanitation workers strike.
Jim Weber/The Commercial Appeal

Eventually, BeVier solicited help from metro editor Angus McEachran in getting a profile of Lawson published. The two did little to notify other staff members about the story, and they waited until a certain copy editor — described by BeVier as an overt racist — had gone home for the day before filing the story.

But for all the paper’s flaws, BeVier rejects the accusation that the coverage was racist. “I think that’s too simplistic,” he said.

“My take on it was they were trying to maintain the status quo under Ahlgren. ... Memphis was stuck in the past, and it had always been that way. Nobody wanted to rock the boat, and here came the sanitation workers, of all people.”

Some black leaders, such as James L. Netters, a pastor and one of three African-American City Council members in 1968, say The CA and other press outlets were "very fair" in exposing the working conditions strikers faced. “My honest opinion is the media were very fair and they covered the important features of the strike,” recalls Netters, now 90.

But the lone black member of the CA staff, Calvin Taylor, a college student and copy clerk during the strike, said the paper reflected the views of the white establishment. “The African-American point of view was not the one that was being presented by the CA,” he said.

Taylor, who was hired as a reporter after the strike, said staff members failed to see the paper’s biases, falsely believing they could fairly and comprehensively report on the grievances of African-American workers.

“Angus told me, ‘Calvin, you’re not black, you’re not white. You’re a reporter.’ I could appreciate that except for one thing — what they were reporting on was from a white point of view.”

McEachran, who died earlier this month, acknowledged that biases pervaded the paper’s coverage, but he said it was unintentional. “We tended to believe that because we had some rapport with the black ministers we knew what was going on in the black community. That simply wasn’t true,” he said two years ago for an article on the newspaper’s 175th birthday.

The one news outlet that did provide an African-American perspective was the Tri-State Defender, the weekly paper serving the city’s black community. It gave prominent play to workers’ struggles and reports of police brutality against African-Americans, referring to officers as “Nazi cops” and “trigger-happy cowboys.”

“Rarely a day passes that a black man fails to visit the (Defender) office bruised, bandaged and/or stitched accusing ‘Memphis' finest’ of beating him,” the paper said in one editorial.

The city’s broadcast media occasionally tried to cover the story from different angles. WHBQ, for instance, interviewed black and white residents on Downtown streets to get their views on the strike — an informal poll that reflected the racial divide in the city.

Nearly six weeks into the strike, King, who was planning a Poor People’s March in Washington, came to Memphis to throw his support behind the workers.

The city’s media greeted the rights leader with general hostility, portraying him as a troublemaker embracing the strikers’ cause to enhance his own power and prestige. When a Downtown march led by King dissolved into violence, The CA and other outlets were quick to blame him with derogatory cartoons and editorials.

“Dr. King’s pose as leader of a nonviolent movement has been shattered,” the CA said, while the Press-Scimitar saw the riot as evidence that King’s rhetoric no longer resonated with young black “hotheads” and militants.

A news reporter stands in the room rented by the assassin who shot Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis on April 5, 1968. The civil rights leader was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel when he was killed by a rifle bullet the day before. James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to the killing and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He died in prison in 1998.(Photo: AP)

It wasn’t just King who irritated the newspapers. The Press-Scimitar called on local black ministers to end their daily marches Downtown, saying the clergymen had “made their point, over and over” with protests that served only to “keep racial relations sore.”

If assassin James Earl Ray needed any help in finding King, the local media provided it. The April 4 editions of the CA and Press-Scimitar mentioned that the civil rights leader was staying at the Lorraine Motel, with the afternoon paper attributing King’s selection of the business to the fact it was black owned.

Mike Jung is president of The Commercial Appeal and The Jackson Sun.(Photo: File)

During his visit a week earlier, King had been escorted by police officers to the white-owned Holiday Inn-Rivermont for reasons of expedience and security after the riot broke out. He drew criticism for lodging at one of the city’s nicest hotels, including a reference in a front-page CA article to his “$29-a-night room.”

In the sobering aftermath of King's assassination, the newspapers offered rewards for information leading to the killer's arrest and called for a resolution to the strike. The CA also dropped "Hambone."

In the decades since, The Press-Scimitar closed while The CA made progress, however haltingly, in its efforts to cover a majority-black city fairly and with sensitivity. During 2017, the paper named its first African-American executive editor, Mark Russell, and hired its first minority top executive, President Mike Jung.

Echoes of the past persist, however. During the past two years the paper's editors have acknowledged missteps regarding a headline about a racially motivated shooting of police officers in Dallas and about a photo accompanying a story on a high school graduation brawl that showed a black woman who was not involved in the melee.